Knight of the Force
by Illuviar
Summary: When he dies on the second Death Star, Darth Vader is transported to his younger body, during the start of the Clone Wars. The galaxy will never be the same again.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. It belongs to Disney. I make no money from this story.**

**AN: This part was betaed by kalvasflam on the Space Battles forums! Thank you very much!**

**Knight of the Force**

**Prologue: Shadow from the future**

**Grand Arena, Geonosis**

Two Jedi and a Republic senator were bound to pillars in the middle of a circular arena. They were about to be executed as a spectacle for the locals and more importantly – to remove a thorn in the side of Count Dooku and his cronies.

A group of spear wielding Geonosian guards, were herding a trio of beasts towards the captives.

An irritated and hungry feline with too many teeth and claws for comfort. A pissed off herbivore with nasty, sharp horns over his snout and a giant, ravenous insect hailing from Felucia, which could swallow a standard humanoid in two bites. It's teeth filled mouth was gaping in a hungry grin. It's chittering was disconcerting for the three bound people.

Two of the captives were about to be served as a dinner. The last one was tagged as a stress relief for the herbivore, which was looking at Skywalker like it wanted to trample him to its heart content.

The pair of bound men were Jedi so by default they were far for helpless even is situation such as that. Even Padme Amidala, who didn't have their natural abilities and training, had survived many hairy situations and wasn't going to let herself be an afternoon snack.

Anakin looked at the woman he had just admitted to himself that he loved. He was going to get her out of there. Somehow.

Amidala gave the young man who had captured her heart a brave simile. Their eyes met for a single moment, that lasted an eternity.

Meanwhile, the six legged terror was trying to impale Obi-Wan on its forward legs.

At the same time two guards were poking the backside of the herbivore with their spears, which had electrified tips. The animal released angry below and charged at the middle pillar, where Anakin Skywalker was bound.

Then everything changed.

The young Jedi was staring at Padme with unseeing eyes. His master, despite being preoccupied with the kriffing thing trying to eat him, felt the Force itself trembling. If he was looking at his apprentice, Kenobi would have seen silvers of light and dark Force energies dancing around the younger Jedi.

From the stands, Count Dooku was watching Skywalker with a frown. The Force was screaming at him like an overloaded starfighter engine. Something was coming. Dangerous. Deadly beyond measure.

Yet, the Sith Lord couldn't see it.

There were just the captives who were being used as both entertainment and a statement that the Confederation would no longer bow to the Republic.

Dooku watched as the young fool was standing there, doing nothing, just a moment away from being gutted by the animal. To the youngster's right, Amidala had climbed to the top of her pillar. She was wielding the chain with which her hands were tied as a whip in an effort to fend off the agile predator that was trying to munch on her.

Dooku's eyes widened when the charging herbivore slammed into an invisible wall and fell to its hind legs. The animal released a quiet keen of distress. Even from his vantage point, the former Jedi could see that the horn of the beast had snapped.

It was at that moment he could sense it. It was as if an invisible barrier had just shattered. A torrent of raw Force was raging in the middle of the arena.

Meanwhile, Padme was in trouble. Obviously, the cat like creature that was chosen as the former Queen's nemesis had no problem scaling up the pillar on which she was taking refuge. The carnivore trilled in irritation when Padme struck it on the snout with the chain. It descended couple of meters before lunging upwards and twisting in the air. Its right paw shot in a lighting fast swipe and razor sharp claws raked Amidala, leaving three bloody lines on the senator's back.

Padme shouted pain and surprise.

There. That was the moment the fate of a whole galaxy changed.

"Padme!" thundered a furious shout.

The localized disturbance in the Force ended, as if it was never there. But those who had eyes to see it, knew better. Something was left behind. Rather someone.

In the stand overlooking the arena, both Count Dooku and many of the Jedi infiltrating the place, turned their eyes to the source of the shout. There was a sight that would remain with those who lived through this day to the end of their lives.

Anakin Skywalker, was painful to look at. For those who could perceive the Force, he was like the heart of a star.

Anakin was enveloped by a sphere made of Light and Dark Force energies, which were rippling as if battling for supremacy. Yet, from their positions in the stands, the Force adept could not feel a thing from the young man. He was like a void, an empty tear in the Force itself.

Without a warning the sphere dissipated, disintegrating the chain with which Skywalker was bound. The pillar to which he was chained was blown to small pieces which rained all over the back of the arena. Many of the spectators on the stands located there were wounded by the falling debris.

The Geonosian at that part of the coliseum felt indescribable terror and flew away.

**=KoF=**

**The Death Star, in orbit of Endor**

Vader looked around in confusion. He felt the Force itself rippling around them. Then something happened to his eyes. It was as if he was at many places at the same time.

He was staring at a sand covered ground. The arena on Geonosis, moments after Padme and his younger self admitted their feelings to each other.

The view shifted, and something clicked in his mind. The last thing Skywalker remembered was agonizing pain that rivaled what he felt while burning at the shore of that Sith damned river of magma.

He was on that kriffing operating table. Vader had just awoken and his master had informed him that in his fury he had killed Padme.

Everything he had suffered at the hands of Kenobi and the soulless machines which had operated on him without any anesthesia or painkillers, were nothing in comparison to what he felt there.

That was the moment when Anakin Skywalker died and became the monster that would terrorize the galaxy for the next two decades.

Another shift in perspective.

Vader and Skywalker, both, watched as the Emperor tortured their son in front of their eyes. Something deep within the being that was both a Jedi and Sith, a monster and a father, snapped.

With a furious bellow of wordless rage, he grabbed his master. The cyborg ignored the purple whips of Sith lightning that was flaying his flesh and flung Sidious in a kilometers deep shaft, which led deep in the bowels of the Death Star.

The energy that arched over his body had fused his artificial limbs and parts of his environmental suit to his flesh. The last living Sith managed to glance at the prone form of his son.

He smiled under his sealed helmet. Luke was going to be all right. He could feel it.

Then his body registered all the damage it had received by his master's attack. Vader stumbled and fell into the chasm after Sidious.

As he was falling to his end, he made a grimace, that might have passed as an attempt for a smile. Then he chuckled under his terror inspiring helmet. He had a great view of the places where Sidious had bounced from the walls and left red smears.

At least now, his son and daughter were safe. And at last, he had his vengeance.

Vader, or was it Skywalker, raced towards oblivion.

Somehow the strange phenomenon was still going on. He could see different parts of his life in crystal clarity.

The doomed man felt as if his fall was occurring in slow motion. He had few precious moment to think about his late wife. His Angel.

She was the one of the few good things in what had become a nightmarish existence, and for a moment he allowed himself to wonder what would have happened if he had taken another path.

Vader fell towards the light at the bottom of the pit and was battered by waves of Dark side energies released from the corpse of the former Emperor.

He ignored the sweet, seductive feeling that it gave him and fought to remain conscious. All he wanted to see at his final moments was the face of Padme.

He grasped the Force with all his might and willed it to shift the perspective of his strange visions.

Light and Dark warred as he was coming perilous close to the bottom.

It was that moment when past and future collided.

Vader saw his Angel. Her face was set up in that determined expression that made her look irresistible. She was starring at something below her.

Just as he was about to hit the bottom, Padme screamed in pain.

He could feel three lines of liquid fire being rend on her back.

His Padme was hurt. In pain.

The bottom of the shaft was mere meters from his falling body.

It was in that moment that past and future collided.

With everything he was, every last shred of the Force he could grasp, Vader screamed his wife's name.

"Padmeee!"

For one, single instant, the world stood still.

The Chosen One was calling on the Force for one last time.

He called and received an answer.

For Luke Skywalker and everyone who lived in that time and age, both Sidious and Vader died on the Death Star. The future continued unchanged.

In another time, another place, the flow of time was irrevocably changed.

The lethal game started by Palpatine had a new player. And the Galaxy would never be the same.

**=KoF=**

**Grand Arena, Geonosis**

Anakin/Vader snapped his head to the right. Padme was atop a pillar. One to which she was chained. Her face was twisted in pain.

She was wearing a form fitting white trousers and top which left her midriff bare. For a second he stood frozen in confusion. He was back on Geonosis, at the very day when the Clone Wars started.

He could feel the crowd cheering at his wife's suffering.

The Separatist leaders who were watching smugly from their elevated positions.

Dooku, who was hiding the fact that he had fallen to the Dark side.

Even the Jedi who were infiltrating the stands, despite the fact that they were cloaking themselves from detection.

But he disregarded most of that. Anakin/Vader had only eyes for one person.

In a way that made it look easy, he vaulted to the top of the pillar where the love of his life was hunched in pain. He effortlessly balanced on the small platform that was barely wide enough for one person and engulfed Padme in a fierce hug, while carefully avoided touching the bloody gashes on her back. She leaned into his chest feeling relieved.

A distant part of his mind was basking in the feeling of a younger, powerful body, which didn't need a mass of cybernetics to keep him alive.

He had his Padme in his hands. Soft. Warm. Alive.

He felt that he could stay that way forever.

Their brief encounter was interrupted by the feline which apparently didn't possess enough sense to run away while it still could.

Instead, the beast started climbing the pillar while hissing at the pair.

The animal looked at its chosen prey and the interloper who had dared interfere with its hunt.

It met the gaze of the newcomer and froze. Two mismatched eyes, one azure and one sickly yellow gazed back.

Invisible hand grasped the beast and wrenched it from the stone pillar. Its attempt to clutch the stone failed, leaving behind rends in the tough surface as well as a single claw, which was torn out of one of the feline's paws.

The predator, which was turned into prey, whined piteously, before the power holding it imploded, caving in its torso. The corpse fell to the ground with quiet thump.

Anakin/Vader cracked a small smile and returned his full attention to the woman cradled in his hands.

He felt... complete. The perpetual ocean of anger pumping within his chest was subdued, almost at peace. The only dark cloud cast over his mood was that despite being whole once more, he felt tired, almost exhausted.

Whatever whim of the Force had brought him here, at that place and time, had drained most of his strength in the process.

However, Vader wasn't going to complain. He had the second chance he craved for. He could put everything right! Both with his wife and the future Empire!

Acting on impulse, Anakin coated his right hand with the Force and slowly waved it over the still bleeding gashes on Padme's back. He infused her wounds with healing energies, drawing on his own life force to feed his healing technique.

It was originally created for a Sith to patch up his own critical wounds, but Anakin found a better use for that skill. It was too bad that it wasn't potent enough to heal his burned out body in the future he came from.

Padme sighed in contentment. She felt safe in the embrace of Anakin. Almost like a foolish school girl with her first love.

If the circumstances were different she might have laughed at herself for these silly thoughts. She gasped when a warmth spread over her back and the pain promptly disappeared.

A loud crash interrupted the hugging couple. Vader looked with amusement how the Felucian insectoid broke the far left pillar in two in its attempt to reach Kenobi. The part of him that was the Sith Lord wanted nothing more than to see the Jedi eaten.

However, what was left of Anakin Skywalker had always regretted how the last encounter with his former master had ended. And here they were – somehow back in time, long before everything went to hell.

He stared at his former master. What to do...

With exasperated sigh and roll of his eyes, Skywalker held tightly his... future wife. Yeah, they were not yet married in this day and age. Damn!

With a light tug through the Force he snapped the chains binding her hands. He hugged Padme tighter and then jumped to the ground, with the young woman securely held in his arms.

Amidala yelped and glared at him when they landed lightly. Anakin gave her a roguish grin in response. He'll be paying for this stunt later. He just knew it.

"You can scream at me to your heart's content later, love." Anakin murmured and lightly kissed her hair, inhaling a bit of her fragrance. He released the exasperated senator and headed towards the overgrown insect which wanted to use Obi-Wan for lunch.

"Need a hand, master?" asked the young man, with insufferable grin on his face.

Skywalker waved his right hand and a mounted local. That man was charging Kenobi with spear pointed at the Jedi's chest.

The Geonosian flew from his mount and struck the side of the insect. The animal chittered in irritation before snapping at the little thing that dared attack it. That was the last conscious action it took.

The spear that was carried by the unfortunate local flew from the ground as if propelled by starship engine and penetrated the Felucian beast's head. The pike was hurled with enough force to emerge from the other side from the animal's thick skull. For a moment, the insectoid stood frozen in place. Its legs twitched randomly few times before it crumpled to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut off.

Kenobi raised an eyebrow and went to join his apprentice and the senator. Anakin had to answer few pointed questions...

**=KoF=**

Up in the stands, at the VIP booth, where Dooku and the CIS leaders were situated, the fallen Jedi was attempting the placate one of the Neimoidian's viceroys. It was mostly a distraction he used from pondering what had happened with Skywalker.

The young Jedi had suddenly grown in power. But more disturbingly, there was darkness emanating of the man. He was steeped deep into the Dark Side and the Count had the nagging feeling that Skywalker had just become the greatest threat there was for his master and himself.

The former Jedi shook his head. That boy was going to die. Soon.

"Patience my friend, patience. She will die." said Dooku.

Below them seven droidekas rolled towards the center of the arena.

**=KoF=**

"Obi-Wan. Good to see you again, old man."

"Anakin..." muttered Kenobi. The older Jedi was lost for words.

This was not the young, headstrong padawan who the older Jedi had trained and raised. There was unbelievable power slumbering within Skywalker.

Obi-Wan could almost feel its warmth on his skin. It was as if he was close too close to a star. It was not only from the Light side however. He could sense the chilling embrace of the Dark side upon his apprentice too. This was nothing like the young man that he was led into the arena few short minutes ago.

"Anakin, what happened to you?" exclaimed the usually calm Jedi.

"It's a long story, old man. We have more immediate concerns." Anakin pointed at the seven droidekas which were rolling in their direction. "There is whole droid army on the planet with a lot of the thin cans hidden under the arena."

"Ah. It's one of those days then." deadpanned Kenobi.

"You have no idea." a ghost of genuine smile tugged the corner of Anakin's mouth.

He had missed this part of his interaction with his one-time master.

Obi-Wan felt the Force stir around Anakin. The droids which were in the process of surrounding them and unfolding from their fast travel configuration released a loud electronic whine before it was drowned by the screech of twisting metal.

The older Jedi could feel the Force flowing through his young friend.

The machines were suddenly suspended in midair and crushed as if by squeezed by giant fists. Their ruined remains were left to fall on the sands of the arena.

Kenobi just shook his head at the feat displayed by his apprentice. He would love to hear Anakin's explanation. The bearded man glanced to the young man and woman to his right.

His eyes widened. He must have been blind not to see it immediately. The storm of emotions those two felt towards each other was almost overwhelming.

"Anakin, we'll be having a long conversation after the current unpleasantries are over." grumbled Obi-Wan.

Skywalker just shrugged. That was way down on his list of priorities right now. All he was concerned with was keeping Padme safe.

**=KoF=**

In the stands, Dooku was watching the two Jedi with unreadable expression on his face. He could feel immense danger from the boy.

The former Jedi was so concentrated on the happenings in the arena that he did not sense the man who sneaked in their midst before a purple lightsaber blade hissed to life in front of Jango Fett.

He turned around, without showing any trace of surprise.

"Master Windu, how pleasant of you to join us."

"This party is over." declared the Jedi Master.

Dozens of Jedi revealed themselves on the stands with few entering the arena from side entrances. They activated their lightsabers and used the Force to panic the locals and cause them to fly away from the coliseum. All the while, most of them were giving wary glances to their comrades on the arena.

"Brave, but foolish my Jedi friend." smiled Dooku. "You are impossibly outnumbered." There was undeniable smugness in the voice of the separatist leader.

"I don't think so." deadpanned Windu.

"We'll see." smiled Dooku.

Behind the back of the Jedi Master could be heard the sounds of metal legs marching over the stone floor. A group of heavy battle droids emerged from the tunnel and opened fire at the black man from their hand mounted blasters. They were joined by the bounty hunter who used his flame thrower to force the Jedi off the stands.

**=KoF=**

When the Jedi revealed themselves, Vader rolled his eyes. If it was not for Yoda and the army of clones who would be here soon, this would have been the death knell for the whole order! Bloody fools! And to think that now he was one of them. Technically at least.

"Bloody idiots!" Anakin muttered. He threw his hands forward, straight at the entrance from which he and his companions were led to the arena. He could sense a battalion of droids marching towards them from there. By the time Windu was forced to jump to the ground and the battle was starting, Anakin had felt the stone walls of the tunnel. He could sense all their strong points and imperfections, down to the tinniest flaw. He tugged with the Force at precisely the wrong places and the entrance collapsed burying the lead elements of the battalion and forcing the rest to search for alternative route. That would slow them down a bit.

Scores of Jedi, with their multi colored weapons blazing, were charging the droids pouring in the arena. With the main entrance collapsed, the warrior monks were divided in two equal groups and attacked the machines who were flooding the coliseum from the remaining pair of tunnels. Anakin's actions gave the Jedi the upper hand temporally because their enemies could not get in a big enough force to overwhelm the Jedi.

Vader used his telekinesis to pick up from the ground the broken piece of the pillar that almost squashed down Kenobi, few minutes ago. He used it as a battering ram to flatten massive numbers of enemies, thus buying even more time for Yoda to arrive with the reinforcements.

He noticed how the locals brought out one of their kriffing sound cannons, which was moving on a repulsorlift platform.

Two of the Geonosians were laughing on their language as they opened fire. The first shot went wide, only covering few Jedi with sand.

The second however was better aimed. Or the weapon's crew just had plain dumb luck on their side. The sound wave picked up an unfortunate human Jedi who screamed for a moment before his insides were shredded by the resonating sound-waves. His flight was short lived. He and the sound-wave struck one of the pillars in the middle of the arena. The resulting explosion rained pieces of man and stone over the battling forces.

That was the last action of the cannon crew before their lives were extinguished.. The piece of pillar which Vader was using to wreck the droids flew at their weapon emplacement with enough force to obliterate it and the pair of locals manning it.

Vader looked around. To his growing horror, but total lack of surprise, he found that Padme had once again hijacked a hoversled pulled, that was pulled by a four legged reptile with obscenely long snout. She was riding the animal and raining fire upon the droids with a blaster liberated from some disabled machine.

Anakin shook his head muttering something about stubborn women and ran after her. One of the Jedi he raced by threw him a spare lightsaber.

"Thanks!" he shouted to the woman who was busy slicing through a group of droids.

The time traveler watched a deja vu, when the beastie Padme was ridding was shot from under her and she was thrown through the air. He acted more on instinct than a conscious thought and was able to catch her in a gentle telekinetic grip. He carefully put her on the ground near the sled.

Padme gave him a grateful smile that melted his cold heart before she took cover. Anakin sprinted to her side and took defensive position to protect her from stray blaster bolts. He never realized that he had a foolish teenage grin on his face.

"Obi-Wan, come here!" he shouted to his mentor.

**=KoF=**

"I have a prior appointment!" Obi-Wan quipped in answer to Anakin's shout.

Kenobi, who had received a lightsaber from one of the other Jedi was busy dealing with a quartet of super droids. He deflected a hail of blaster bolts away, sending few of them back towards one of the killing machines. Its armor plating held couple of the energy beams but that weakened it enough so the next blew through the alloy protecting the robot and blew its innards. The machine whined pitifully and tumbled to the ground in a smoking heap.

Obi-Wan darted forward, coming near enough to the next droid to slice of its right arm and slash through part of its torso. He moved in such a way that the crippled machine was between him and its two fellows.

Kenobi threw away one of the pairs of still standing Super Battle droids with a mighty telekinetic push and finished off the damaged one which left only one enemy in the immediate vicinity. The last robot desperately shot at the Jedi with its weapon only to be blown apart by its own deflected blaster fire.

Obi-Wan saw that his fellow Jedi had things more or less under control and made his way to his wayward apprentice.

"You shouted." Kenobi grinned to Anakin who had taken defensive stance over senator Amidala.

"Cover me for few seconds, old man."

Vader deactivated his lightsaber and concentrated. The arena shook when one after another the remaining two entrances collapsed burying countless droids.

"Now, that's better." Vader smirked.

Anakin took few deep gulps of air. The Force energy he used to bring down the tunnels was tiring him. He was far from being in top shape.

The Jedi, seeing what happened, redoubled their efforts to eliminate the deployed war machines.

"Now, Anakin, I think you owe me an explanation." said Obi-Wan after seeing that the immediate danger was gone for the moment.  
>Skywalker and Padme looked at each other. Kenobi didn't miss the bit of gild in the Senator's eyes.<p>

Anakin on the other side, had an infuriating smirk on his face. After all, what were the Jedi going to do to him? Expel him from the Order? That would only untie his hands.

Besides in such a case he could marry Padme without hiding. It wasn't like Palpatine wouldn't know it anyway.

"You want to know what changed in me, master?" asked Anakin.

The young man smiled mischievously and knelt next to Senator Amidala. He carefully helped her to her feet, then gently cupped her face with his left hand and passionately kissed her.

She stiffened for a moment, surprised by his brazen action. Then Padme leaned into the man she loved and returning his kiss, momentarily forgetting the chaos around them.

Obi-Wan stared at the pair with a hanging mouth. The older man felt like his jaw was about to hit the ground.

Around them, many of the Jedi who no longer had droids to dealt with took a note of Anakin's actions. While a lot were frowning with the disapproval, most of the young ones were giving the couple either approving looks or small smiles.


	2. Chapter 1 Part 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. It belongs to Disney. I make no money from this story.**

**AN: This part was betaed by Actualize, on the Space Battles forums! Thank you very much!**

**Knight of the Force**

**=KoF=**

**Chapter 1: There is no Peace, only Passion**

**=KoF=**

**Part 1**

**Great Arena, Geonosis**

Jango Fett shot a long jet of liquid fire from his flamethrower, forcing the black Jedi to jump down from the stand. Behind him a platoon of Super Battle droids were deploying in attempt to protect the CIS leaders.

The bounty hunter grimaced after taking a hasty look around.

There were Jedi everywhere. So far they were holding their own against his client's droids.

No surprise there. The war machines were forced to fight their way through chokepoints, which were held by the lightsaber wielding idiots.

He glanced at the arena below. Fett had felt the tremors when one of the Jedi brought down the main tunnels over the head of the advancing droids. It was no surprise that the few robots which had made their way on the bloody sand were being dispatched with ease.

He shook his head. The CIS might have to level the whole arena if they wanted to deal with this Jedi infestation.

Jango gave a slight nod to his son. Perhaps it was time to cut off his looses and get away while they could. He had a bad feeling about this whole mess. Or perhaps not.

He could hear the distinct sound of the rapid fire blasters used by destroyer droids. Obviously at least few of those had managed to deploy themselves in entrances leading to the stands.

Fett looked right and saw a young human Jedi being cut down by a barrage of blaster fire. An even younger Zabrak female was forced to jump down from the stands to avoid the same fate.

With that path cleared, a pair of droidekas rolled out and deployed outside the entrance, protecting it while a column of Super Battle droids marched out.

That was a scene that would repeat itself all over the stands, and soon enough the Jedi would find themselves pushed down into the arena, with their enemies holding the higher ground.

For a moment Fett considered jumping into the arena and engaging the Jedi but quickly discarded that idea. There were too many of them down there, and not enough droids engaging them. He was not feeling particularly suicidal today.

Many of the Jedi were either finishing the droids in the arena or making impossible leaps and jumping up into the stands to engage the robots there. Others were staring at something...

Jango frowned. There was a couple down in the arena who were making out in the middle of the battle. He wondered whether he should admire their ballsy move or decry them as idiots...

**=KoF=**

"Anakin! What in the name of the Force are you doing?!" exclaimed an appalled Kenobi.

The said young man disengaged his lips from those of the blushing Senator and turned towards his master. Skywalker smirked at the Jedi Knight, showing that he regretted nothing.

By the Force, he had missed Padme so much!

"I think it's obvious, master." deadpanned the padawan. "You know, when a boy loves a girl..." Skywalker trailed off and grinned at the scandalized older man.

Oh, he was going to have so much fun needling all the Jedi...

"Anakin! Enough!" growled Padme, effectively shutting him up.

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow at that. The Jedi Knight looked at the Senator. He knew what a can of worms their burgeoning relationship was going out to be. Further, Kenobi had the nagging feeling that any attempt to force Anakin to leave Amidala would end very badly for everyone.

Yet, it appeared that the young woman from Naboo was able to keep his apprentice in check. No small feat. 'And it might help you keep your sanity...' muttered a small voice in the back of his head.

"You are aware how much trouble you are in, right?" grumbled Kenobi, in the tone of voice he usually used when his apprentice pulled one of his stunts. Granted this one took the cake.

"Yep. I know." came the nonchalant answer.

"And you apparently don't care." muttered Obi-Wan.

'Oh, you have no idea, old man.' thought Vader. For the first time in his life he had his priorities straight.

Padme was number one. Dealing with Sidious and the whole war mess was second. Clearing up the Republic of all the corruption and inefficient bureaucracy, or preferably turning it into an Empire done right was third. And any trouble with the Jedi was way down the list...

"However, we have some more immediate concerns." said Vader and nodded at the stands, where the droids were pouring from multiple entrances.

A phalanx of droidekas was slowly pushing the Jedi back. The destroyer droids were using their shields to tank the shots deflected by the Force Adepts while they unleashed their considerable firepower upon the Republic's guardians.

Behind them, Super Battle droids and hordes of B1s were advancing and adding their weapons fire to the onslaught against the Jedi.

In just few minutes, the force users were pushed down to the arena, while hundreds of droids pointed their weapons at them.

The machines were aided by dozens of locals, who flied above all and took potshots at distracted Jedi.

"This could have gone better." muttered Obi-Wan.

"Hardly." answered Vader.

If it wasn't for Yoda, who would be making his presence known any moment now, the Jedi on Geonosis were doomed.

Kriff it all! He had forgotten how badly most of the Jedi handled themselves in the opening months of the war! This mess on Geonosis was a case in point.

"Master Windu!" Dooku's voice echoed all over the arena.

"Here we go again." grunted Anakin.

"You've fought gallantly! This was a battle worthy of recognition!" the former Jedi paused for a moment looking at the droids on the stands, whose numbers were swelling as he spoke. "We have both the numbers and the high ground. Despite your spirited performance, it is finished."

The Sith Lord looked pensive. Even a bit sad.

"Surrender, my friends, and your lives will be spared."

Master Windu glared at the man whom he had once considered a friend.

"We won't be hostages to be bargained with, Dooku." declared the Vaapad master.

"I'm sorry you chose to end it this way, my friend."

All around the Jedi, the CIS droids took aim and waited for the firing order.

"It isn't an end, Dooku." Vader's powerful voice echoed around the arena. "It all just beginning."

Many eyes fell on the padawan, wondering if he had gone insane.

Anakin just smiled and pointed upwards with his left hand.

A tiro of Acclamators could be seen descending from the heavens. Scores of LAATs, chock full with combat ready clones were racing under the assault ships.

The short form of Yoda could be made in the troop compartment of the lead craft. He was surrounded by two squads of heavily armed clones.

**=KoF=**

**High Orbit over Geonosis, few minutes earlier**

The moment the Republic fleet exited from hyperspace, Yoda felt a tremor passing through the Force. The veil of the Dark Side, which was clinging onto everything shifted.

The future felt a bit brighter, yet somehow it was more uncertain than ever.

Whatever was happening, its source was on the planet below.

Yoda concentrated. He opened his senses fully and winced. He could feel every one of his Jedi who were dying on the world they were orbiting.

At least he had no problem pinpointing the exact location of his people. Yoda gave the necessary coordinates to the Clone Commander who was standing to his right and headed towards the docking bay.

His presence was needed elsewhere. There was a mystery needing unraveling.

While he made its way to a transport, Yoda let the Force flow through him. For the first time in a very long time, decades maybe, perhaps even centuries, the Grand Master of the Order could feel the Force whispering to him in somewhat clear manner.

He knew it in his ancient bones. He would have an incredibly important decision to make. Soon.

One that would be vital for the future of all Jedi.

Soon enough, the Jedi Master was on a LAAT, which was descending through the atmosphere. Even from this height he could make up the form of a giant arena, which was partly obscured by the smoke of raging fires.

As it came closer, he could clearly see that many of the Jedi who had come to Geonosis were still alive. He silently thanked the Force for that small mercy.

He saw someone pointing up. In the first instant, the ancient Jedi didn't recognize that person.

Oh, he was familiar, yet there was something different. Darker.

Skywalker... whispered the Force.

For a single instant, the Grandmaster was able to see clearly. The threads of Fate, of the future itself, were wrapped around the young man. He was like an unlit beacon in the Force. There was an ocean of power slumbering within the boy, just waiting for a nudge before being awakened.

There. At that moment Yoda knew that Anakin Skywalker was truly the Chosen One. However, that knowledge gave him no peace of mind.

For the first time, he doubted the exact meaning of the prophecy, for Skywalker was wearing darkness as a snug cloak around himself.

The short Jedi took a deep breath and calmed himself. Yoda knew he should be careful in how he dealt with the boy. Everything was going to hang on the way he would handle the boy.

The Force itself was adamant about that. It promised a great opportunity and even greater danger.

Then the LAAT carrying him was over the arena and Yoda had no more time to ponder the future. He needed to concentrate on the here and now.

"Around the Jedi, a perimeter create." he ordered.

Four of the transports darted towards the arena, forming a protective circle around the men and women there. The rest of the gunships concentrated on the droids holding position within the stands.

Six of the heavily armed craft unleashed their fury upon the CIS forces. Missiles blew apart groups of droids. Rapid turret fire shredded helpless machines, while long emerald beams cut in two whole rows of the robots.

Within seconds, the stands were turned into a sea of fire, in which nothing should have been able to survive, yet the gunships didn't relent in their assault.

They were joined by the blasterfire of the clones deploying from the transports in the arena, while the Jedi were busy retrieving the wounded before embarking.

Anakin grabbed Padme and leaped in the nearest LAAT, with Kenobi racing on his heels.

A stray blaster bolt struck one of the clones covering them, throwing the man on his back. Skywalker used his telekinesis to retrieve the body of the stricken solider before the rest of the clones jumped on the transport and the craft rose over the arena.

Despite the perceived effectiveness of the airstrike, the stands were still full with battle droids which were shooting at the retreating LAATs.

Below, on the VIP stand, Count Dooku was looking at the retreating ships with a frown on his face. It would have been much better if Yoda had been a minute or two slower. With more Jedi dieing here, the Sith plans would go smoother.

No matter. During the course of the war, those who survive that day's battle will be dealt with.

The Sith Lord winced. He could feel the Force warning him about imminent danger. He had to get out of Geonosis. Soon.

But first, the plans for his masters secret weapon must be secured.

Dooku turned around and disappeared in the tunnel behind the stand and was soon followed by Jango Fett and his son.

The bounty hunter decided that discretion was the better part of valor. He wasn't paid to take part in a full scale war. Not yet anyway.

He waved to his son to follow him and headed to his ship.

**=KoF=**

**LAAT transport, en route to GAR staging area, Geonosis**

Anakin was holding Padme with his right arm, steadying her, while the transport was maneuvering wildly in an attempt to throw off the fire of unsuppressed AA emplacements.

Crimson blaster bolts were spat at the Republic craft as they left the arena. One of the escorting gunships was unlucky and ran straight into a barrage which shredded its main body and sent it tumbling towards the ground.

In response, two of its wing mates strafed the weapon emplacement, leaving a burning crater in their wake.

The group of transports and heavily armed LAATs flew over a spaceport dug in the rocky ground of Geonosis. They opened fire on the landed ships, with missiles and lances of pure energy raking the tough hulls of the Separatists craft.

The command sections of Lukrehulk battleships were all but invulnerable from such a puny attack, but the stings of the Republic gunships were more than enough to dispatch a score of lighter ships, especially once Vader pointed out that those things were vulnerable to hits under their fuel tanks.

When they reached the staging area, most of the Jedi disembarked and took command of clone units which they led into battle.

"Pilot, relay to command that our air assets must prioritize the CIS mobile missile launchers. They are extreme threat to our armored units." ordered Vader.

"Right away, sir!"

Kenobi gave him sidelong look, wondering how his apprentice knew that.

**=KoF=**

**CIS Primary Command Center, Geonosis**

"I don't know how the Republic managed to gather such a huge army so fast. They are too many of them. We need to retreat." Dooku spoke to the assembled CIS leaders, lacing his voice with the Force, willing them to comply with his words at face value.

In truth, if the Confederation forces stood their ground and fought, they had a very good chance of winning. Such a defeat would end the war too soon. By the Force! If he and Sidious, didn't manage the war carefully, the CIS might win anyway. Military that is.

As it was right now, the Confederation had neither the numbers or the apparatus in place to rule the Republic if it defeated the GAR. To make matters worse, there were a lot of powerful systems such as Corellia which were neutral right now.

If the CIS won too soon and easily, those wild card could do anything, rendering an early military victory a Pyrrhic one. At best.

When all was said and done, the Clone Wars which had just begun, not only an elaborate trap for Jedi. The conflict was merely a setting up stage for the future Galactic Empire. That was the end game.

If the Sith aim was to only destroy the Republic and take their vengeance upon the Jedi, that would be relatively easy right now. All they would need was to let the CIS win.

They had learned their lesson. Once, long ago, the ancient Sith had conquered the Republic but were unable to hold it for more than few centuries. But if the Republic willingly transformed into an Empire under the strain of the war... Well, that was another game all together...

"This is not good at all!" whined Viceroy Gunrey.

"We need to get our ships in orbit!" added one of his aides.

With that the Neimoidians left the command center, followed by most of the CIS leaders who were heading towards their own vessels. Luckily for them, the Republic Navy didn't have the planet blockaded. Yet.

Soon, only Poggle the Lesser and few of the locals remained.

"I'm sending my warriors to the catacombs." he said in his clicking language.

"My master won't allow the Republic to get away with this treachery." declared the Sith Lord.

The most ironic part of this day was that the ones who started the war was the Republic. Two of their Jedi as well as a well known Senator were captured as spies. And when the CIS were about to dispense justice on those people as was their right, the Republic unleashed their secret army upon them.

This day would be a public relations coup for the Confederation, which was the wronged party.

"The Jedi must not find out about our secret weapon!" declared Poggle the Lesser and walked to a nearby computer terminal.

He downloaded the designs of what would one day become known as the Death Star and scrubbed all traces of the date from the system. Then he walked to Dooku and gave him the data disc.

"If they found those designs we are doomed." muttered the local noble.

"I'll take them to Coruscant. The designs will be much safer there, in my masters hands." stated Dooku.

He nodded to his friend and headed towards a nearby dock. From there he would take a speeder and escorts, and travel to his ship.


	3. Chapter 1 Part 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. It belongs to Disney. I make no money from this story.**

**AN: This part was betaed by Actualize, ****on the Space Battles forums! Thank you very much!**

**Knight of the Force**

**=KoF=**

**Chapter 1: There is no Peace, only Passion**

**=KoF=**

**Part 2**

**LAAT transport, near the Republic LZ, Geonosis**

"So, you two..." Kenobi trailed off, not exactly sure how to start that particular conversation.

The CIS forces shooting their transport didn't help the matter either.

"What about us, old man?" quipped Anakin.

Obi-Wan could sense profound amusement coming from his padawan while Amidala was a bit uncomfortable with the whole thing. Yet, he could feel a fierce determination within the young woman. She wasn't going to make this easy for the Jedi.

Kenobi wasn't surprised by that. He knew the Senator well enough to expect nothing less from her.

"Pilot, break left and head up that old river bed." ordered Vader with a voice accustomed to command.

"Roger, sir!" answered the clone, turning the transport in that direction.

"What's that about, Anakin?" asked Kenobi.

"Can't you sense him, Obi-Wan? Dooku is that way."

The Jedi Knight frowned, closing his eyes and concentrating on the currents of the Force, clearing his mind of everything else.

It was something very hard to do with the raging storm of emotions emanating from the young pair by his side.

Nevertheless, that didn't deter him and he soon was able to feel a familiar presence in the Force. He was well obscured, but Dooku's could be felt somewhere ahead.

Moments later, the LAAT flew over the end of the river bed and raced above dunes made of fine red sand.

Ahead of them a man riding a speeder could be seen, flanked by two fighters

"Shoot them down!" snapped Vader.

While not as satisfying as doing it himself, seeing Dooku blown up would be good enough.

"Sorry, sir! We are out of missiles!"

Vader swore in Huttese until Padme's elbow poked him painfully in the ribs, shutting him up..

Obi-Wan frowned at that interaction. The bouts of anger, almost fury, which his padawan exhibited were troubling, yet he couldn't help it but notice the way Amidala was able to calm Anakin with simple action. It was almost admirable.

After all, Kenobi was well acquainted with how stubborn and troublesome his padawan was.

"Sorry, love." muttered Anakin.

He turned his head towards the pilots and ordered: "Try to close the distance.."

"We'll need help to deal with Dooku!" protested Padme.

"Anakin and I can handle him!" stated Kenobi.

"Damn right!" added Vader.

That bastard owed him a hand and he was going to collect. Again.

**=KoF=**

Dooku was well aware who was behind him because the Force was whispering dire warnings in his ears. That was the reason that he had given orders for the redeployment of few assets.

Few battalions of droids, which were supposed to evacuate with the CIS ships, were sent to stall the main GAR force and the Jedi leading them, while a particular asset was recalled to cover his retreat if it was necessary.

The Count received the confirmation that his backup was in place soon after the gunship with the Jedi started closing on his speeder. He ordered his escorts to attack their pursuers. At the very least that would buy him time to reach the dock.

The agile fighters looped back and opened fire on the gunship. Dooku sensed a surge of anger from behind and frowned. Now the Force was warning him that something deadly was approaching.

Calling for help may have proved to be the prudent course of action after all...

**=KoF=**

Vader had another sense of Deja Vu. The two fighters opened fire, and moments later flak explosions shook the transport.

Padme, who had moved out of Anakin's reach after poking him in the ribs stumbled and fell from the side door. A clone lost balance too and tumbled out after her.

"Padme!" Vader shouted in fear, mixed with a heavy dose of anger.

He could feel her being dazzled but thought that she was all right beyond that. At least this time he knew that she would be all right. Yet, he thought, it wouldn't hurt if she had few more troopers looking after her. After all, she had a bigger knack for getting into trouble than even he did.

Vader used the Force to grab the squad of clones within the troop compartment and shouted at them: "Keep her safe at all cost!"

Then he carefully ejected them from the speeding gunship and let them tumble over a sand dune they overflew. He could feel that his stunt had pissed them off, but he knew that the clones would follow his order anyway. At least all of them were in one piece.

"Anakin! That was reckless!" shouted Kenobi.

"They are all right." shrugged Vader. "Padme is a trouble magnet. She may need the additional help."

"Senator Amidala obviously affects your judgment. Are you aware that you might be expelled from the order for your relationship with her?" asked Obi-Wan in much calmer tone.

One of these days, that boy was going to be the death of him.

"Is that so?" Vader chuckled.

Once, such a threat would have been terrifying. Now it was a source of amusement.

Another burst of enemy fire shook the LAAT despite the efforts of the pilot.

"A moment, old man." Vader grunted and closed his eyes.

Kenobi could see the Force whipping around his padawan as the young man grasped it.

Outside one of the fighters was pushed down by invisible wave of power and it was torn to pieces when it struck the rock strewn ground.

The other jerked up in surprise but that didn't help him. A telekinetic push sent it flying into the side of the shallow canyon which they had entered.

Skywalker's efforts were rewarded by another spectacular explosion.

Vader took a deep breath. He should have done that before Padme fell out. She could have hurt herself this time! He couldn't just rely on hopes that everything would happen the same way even if he changed nothing else.

Besides, that wasn't his way. He had been given a second chance and he was going to grasp it with both hands! Damn the consequences to the deepest pits of the Nine Corellian Hells! This time he was going to shape his own future!

"I don't care if the Council expels me or not, Obi-Wan. For the first time in my life I have my priorities straight. If they make me chose between Padme and the Jedi, I would choose her every time."

Kenobi was stunned by the utter conviction in his padawan's words. Despite his reckless actions, Anakin had a sense of maturity around him: while there were traces of the young man he knew very well, they were subdued.

Obi-Wan understood that Skywalker was saying the absolute truth. He felt a pit forming in his stomach. When the battle was over and the Council met to discuss Anakin's behavior, things would become ugly. He just knew it.

He wanted to scream at Anakin, to harangue and push and persuade, FORCE, him to change his mind, but it was clear as a day that mere words wouldn't sway him.

Obi-Wan knew his padawan. Unlike for a lot of Jedi, an expulsion would be more of an inconvenience than anything else. The young man was a mechanical genius who had been making a life for himself before joining the Order.

The Jedi would be the ones who would lose the most.

"Obi-Wan!" shouted Anakin, throwing him from his thoughts. "Stop meditating! We're here!"

Kenobi shook his head and looked around. The LAAT was nearing a metal ramp extending from the side of a tall rock formation. He saw Dooku's speeder disappearing inside.

Moments later the transport had come to a stop, hovering over the ramp. The Jedi jumped out and ran after the fallen Jedi. They had taken just few steps inside before Anakin grabbed his master and stopped their headlong charge.

"That's new." muttered Vader. He could feel Dooku and three other beings, all rather strong in in the Force.

Anakin grimaced. He was confident that he could take the trio he was sensing, but that would leave Obi-Wan against Dooku, and Vader knew very well how that particular duel was doomed to end. Further, he wasn't confident that as weakened as he was, he was up to facing Dooku and whichever of those three mysterious beings were still alive when the Sith Lord dealt with Kenobi.

All things considered, it was good that Yoda would be appearing soon. Or so he hoped.

"You sense them too, don't you, Obi-Wan?" asked Vader.

Kenobi, who had been surprised by the way Anakin abruptly halted them, nodded. He had felt that Dooku wasn't alone moment after his padawan did. Which itself was surprising: Usually Skywalker was the one charging headlong into danger.

"I do. We need to work together." said the Jedi Knight.

"I'll take the three on the left while you entertain your old friend." muttered Anakin. "Unless you want to leave Dooku to me and deal with those three?" he pointed at the wall behind which the Count and his associates were waiting.

Kenobi stood frozen for a moment, deliberating their strategy. He knew that facing Dooku alone was a very bad idea, almost as bad as leaving his padawan face a trio of Dark Jedi or worse, Sith. On the other hand, despite the power Anakin was suddenly exhibiting, he didn't want his padawan to face Dooku...

"We'll have to hold them off long enough for reinforcements to arrive."

Vader nodded. it had been a very long time since he had wholeheartedly agreed with his former master.

They walked warily into the small hangar and found Dooku standing next to a bunch of what appeared to be empty fuel cells. To his right, three men waited with inactive lightsabers in their hands.

One was a Twi'lek with bright yellow, almost white skin. The next was a brown haired human, with face resembling a bird of prey. The third was a blue skinned Duros, whose huge eyes held unnatural coldness.

"I'll take the three on the left!" declared Vader and charged the Dark Jedi.

"Wait, Anakin!" Obi-Wan shouted a warning.

Skywalker was halfway to the surprised men when Dooku raised his hand and unleashed a torrent of blue lighting.

Everyone expected that the brash padawan would be hurled at the wall behind him by the onslaught. The attack halted his progress but that was all it did to Skywalker. To their shock, Vader not only caught the onslaught on the blade of lightsaber, but redirected a part of its power towards the Duros. The Dark Jedi wasn't fast enough in activating his lightsaber and bore the full brunt of the attack. He was thrown into the air and bounced off the side of Dooku's ship before landing, unconscious, on the ground in a smoking heap..

Dooku frowned at the unexpected development. He nodded to his still standing Acolytes: "Take him!"

They wasted no time and activated their blades before charging Anakin. He smiled grimly and met their attack.

Dooku tried to electrocute Kenobi, but the Jedi Knight absorbed the lighting attack with his blade.

"I don't think so." muttered Kenobi.

Dooku gave him a small smile before drawing his lightsaber, which came to life with the characteristic snap-hiss. Jedi and Sith clashed in a whirlwind of azure and crimson light.

Besides them Vader was having fun.

This was the first time in over two decades engaging in a lightsaber duel whole. He was no longer constrained by the kriffing suit, and, while the lack of the cybernetic limbs left him a bit weaker physically, that weakness was more than made up by the advantages he had regained.

Vader's only real disadvantage was that for two decades he had relied predominantly on overwhelming strength in combat – something he no longer had on his side. He had to remember how to use more technique in his combat style, something he was enjoying immensely.

His borrowed emerald blade sizzled when it met a meter and half long pillar of crimson energy. At the same time, Anakin sent a telekinetic wave which staggered his second opponent.

Skywalker used the moment he had gained to concentrate on the other opponent. He parried a slash aimed at literally disarming him. He took a chance by locking the lightsabers together and stepping within his opponent's guard. He pushed the blades to the right and, letting go of the hilt of his weapon with his left hand, struck the Twi'lek in the face. With a fist he had enhanced with the Force.

There was a satisfying crunching sound. His opponent's grunted in pain and lost his balance, staggering to the right. the Dark Jedi still managed to keep the lightsabers locked for a moment longer, preventing Anakin from following with another attack.

Then the other human was upon Skywalker, leaving the Twi'lek to regain his balance in safety.

Beside them, Dooku was taunting Obi-Wan, who was hard pressed to keep the Count's blade from biting into his flesh.

Anakin attacked the man facing him with a series of powerful strikes. He was trying to overwhelm his opponent with brute strength before the Twi'lek, who was already dashing their way, rejoined the battle.

Vader battered aside the Dark Jedi's blade and used the momentum of his swing to rotate in place and deliver an even more powerful attack.

In almost the same moment a lot of things happened.

Anakin's green blade sliced through his human opponent's chest, sending him falling backwards. The Twi'lek attacked Vader, nearly taking off his left hand. Only the man's experience allowed him to twist aside at the last possible instant.

The Duros had shaken off the shock of the Sith Lightning and was getting back on his feet.

But most importantly for Skywalker and his Jedi Master, Dooku was able to breach Kenobi's defenses.

They had their weapons locked in a contest of strength when the Sith twisted his wrists, releasing the blades. Obi-Wan had an instant of horrified realization, when his lightsaber was torn out of his hands. Then, for a fraction of the second, the crimson blade of the Count passed through the biceps on the Jedi's left arm. Kenobi shouted in pain.

Dooku followed his attack with a simple slash, cutting through the Jedi's thigh muscle leaving him to crumble helplessly.

The Sith Lord flourished his weapon and prepared to strike down Kenobi once and for all.

At the same time, Vader found himself facing two opponents, both between him and Obi-Wan. He was well aware that he couldn't reach Kenobi in time.


	4. Chapter 1 Part 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. It belongs to Disney. I make no money from this story.**

**AN: This part was betaed by ir_fane on the Space Battles forums! Thank you very much!**

**Knight of the Force**

**=KoF=**

**Chapter 1: There is no Peace, only Passion**

**=KoF=**

**Part 3**

**Docking bay, CIS installation, Geonosis**

The part of Vader that was the shell of a man left after Mustafar wanted to see Kenobi die again. There was no question about that.

Yet, the former Sith Lord had merged with the essence of the young Skywalker whose body he inhabited.

That echo still saw Obi-Wan as a mentor, the older brother who raised him.

For the moment he stood still, wondering what to do. He looked between his opponents and what he saw prompted him to action.

Dooku raised his lightsaber above his head and prepared to strike a finishing blow on the helpless Jedi.

Vader reached through the Force. Anakin's actions were sensed by the Dark Jedi, however they believed that he was about to attack them directly.

The men gathered the Force around them, ready to counteract any attack send their way. Instead, Vader grabbed the corpse of the human he had cut down and hurled it at the older Sith Lord.

Dooku reacted in time, blasting the limp body with a telekinetic blast, and sent it flying to the left.

Nevertheless, that distraction did its job. Kenobi lived for a few more moments, and the attention of the Dark Jedi was redirected for an instant.

Obi-Wan used that opportunity to roll away from the Sith Lord, buying himself a few more precious seconds.

Anakin gave one last glance to his mentor and moved. He jumped at the man to his right, simultaneously using telekinesis to grab the blade which belonged to the man he killed. Vader's lightsaber crashed into the weapon of the Twi'lek with tremendous power, forcing the man to step back.

The Duros tried to flank Skywalker, but had to parry an unexpected attack. Vader had just flung the dead man's scarlet blade straight at him.

With his flank secured for few seconds, Anakin pressed the attack. He was mere moments if he wanted to reach Kenobi before Dooku could deliver a coup de grace. Skywalker executed a strong diagonal slash which forced his opponent to take a step back and to the right.

Dooku glanced at the teen who had killed one of his men and decided that the padawan won't reach him in time. He was ready to dash at Kenobi and finish him once and for all, but wanted to be sure that there will be no more distractions.

Dooku pointed his left hand at Skywalker and unleashed a concentrated bolt of Sith Lightning at him.

Vader sensed the danger and met it with a raised hand. He caught the attack on his palm, which was protected by shield made of Force energy. Anakin deflected it towards the Duros, who was ready this time and met the lightning with his raised blade.

The three of them were locked at an impasse when Dooku refused to stop his onslaught.

The Twi'lek attacked Skywalker head on in an attempt to break the stalemate. The former Sith Lord caught the crimson blade of the Dark Jedi with his lightsaber and with a mighty shove, pushed him back.

That situation might have continued until Vader was too tired to fend of his three opponents, but that was not to be.

A quiet tapping sound could barely be heard coming from the direction of the landing ramp.

By an unannounced agreement, the combatants disengaged and Vader quickly moved to cover the wounded form of Obi-Wan.

Moment later, Yoda calmly walked into the hangar, revealing that the tapping sound was caused by his gnarled walking stick.

"Master Yoda." the Sith Lord greeted his former teacher in a calm voice concealing his disappointment.

Dooku was not arrogant enough to believe that he could easily dispatch the Grandmaster of the Jedi Order. Further, from what he saw, his remaining Acolytes were unlikely to defeat Skywalker.

The opportunity to dispatch a pair of Jedi was slipping from his grasp.

"Count Dooku," a hint of disappointment could be heard in the ancient Jedi's voice.

"This is the last time you meddle in our affairs." declared Dooku. His tone carried none of the doubts he felt within his heart.

The Sith Lord used the Force to grab an empty container mounted on a nearby wall and threw it at the tiny Jedi.

Vader grinned when Dooku and Yoda started their duel. Now he was free to deal with the remaining two fools without further interruptions.

"Anakin! Catch!" Kenobi used the Force to summon his lightsaber and throw it to Skywalker's free hand.

Anakin caught the weapon with his free hand and activated it. An azure blade hissed to life and Vader pointed it at the Duros.

"Let's finish this charade!" Skywalker hissed.

In his left side, which was obscured by the shadows covering the hangar, a yellow eye was blazing with fierce joy.

Vader surged forward, and the Dark Acolytes ran to meet him.

Green and emerald met crimson. Each parried strike released white sparks of energy, briefly illuminating the darkened dock.

The three combatants fought for a few seconds, neither side gaining the upper hand. The reason for that was simple: Vader was on the precipice of exhaustion. In the brief moments when he had to hold off Dooku and his cronies, he had spent most of the tiny reserves of stamina he had left. The pair of Dark Jedi were unable to overcome the experience of the former Sith Lord.

Anakin had to end the battle immediately.

Vader drew all his remaining strength into enhancing his body as much as possible.

The eyes of the Acolytes widened when they sensed a torrent of power washing through their opponent. That was all the warning they got, and it was insufficient to save them.

Vader glided forward, delivering strikes with power rivaling the best he managed decades hence as a cyborg. If one looked close enough, they could see tiny shock-waves of Force energy exploding every time the Dark Jedi parried one of his strikes.

His sudden monstrous strength caught them off guard.

Skywalker advanced as an unstoppable juggernaut, and smashed through the guard of the Twi'lek as if it was put up by a youngling.

He followed with a second strike, battering the lightsaber out of the man's hands.

At the same time he was using Kenobi's lightsaber to fend off the frantic attacks from the Duros.

Vader smiled, relishing the fear reeking from his opponents. His eyes met those of the Twi'lek an instant before he stabbed him in the chest. The emerald blade sliced through flesh and bones as if they weren't there, leaving a gaping mall in the torso of the man.

The part of Skywalker which was still very much a Sith, drank deeply from the Dark Jedi's despair, when he realized that his death was at hand.

Vader turned his back to the dying man and concentrated on his remaining adversary.

In the other end of the docking bay, Dooku glanced at the other battle. One of his Acolytes was dying and the other would not be alive for long. He could clearly sense the power of the boy. His servant stood no chance against someone like that.

It was time for Dooku to cut his looses and get away from Geonosis.

He parried a pair of slashes, which Yoda delivered in quick succession, and channeled the Force through his free hand.

Dooku used the gathered energy to crush the foundations of a pillar made by joined metal pipes, which toppled towards the prone form of Kenobi. The Sith Lord smiled when he felt a shift in Yoda's intentions. The Jedi Master had decided to save his fellow Force Adept and was no longer an immediate threat to him.

He left the Yoda to his own devises and ran towards his ship.

Just before he jumped in his transport out of Geonosis, the Sith Lord saw Skywalker cornering his last Acolyte.

Vader had the Duros with his back to the wall. The Dark Jedi's lightsaber was pinned against the rocky surface by the azure blade in Anakin's left hand, leaving him wide open.

A flash of green later, the decapitated Duros slid down the wall.

Vader sensing that the immediate danger was over, deactivated his weapons. He turned around in time to see Dooku's ship leaving.

Someone sent a hail of blaster bolts after the disappearing craft but they did nothing more than sparkling over its tough hull.

Anakin turned his head towards the wall behind which the blaster fire came and breathed a sigh of relief.

Seconds later, Padme ran inside followed by two squads of clone troopers, which had a medic each. She looked at the aftermath of the battle and winced when her eyes lingered over Kenobi's injuries.

When he saw that, Skywalker had to fight to remain calm, because for a moment his heart was pierced by a spike of irrational jealousy.

However that moment passed and was promptly forgotten a second later.

Padme had determined that no threats were present so she ran to the man she loved and drew him into a fierce hug. His hands embraced her and pressed her gently to his chest.

Amidala was glad that after Anakin's display in the Arena they no longer had to hide. She was well aware that soon enough everyone would know about their relationship. After all, nothing in the galaxy moved faster than a juicy rumor.

Yoda looked at the pair and frowned. He sensed a disturbance in the Force. Those two, and especially that padawan, were going to give him a heap of headaches.

The Jedi Master frowned at them. He was too old to deal with this stuff...


	5. Chapter 2 Part 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. It belongs to Disney. I make no money from this story.**

**AN: This part was betaed by vyor, ****on the Space Battles forums! Thank you very much!**

**Chapter 2: The End of an Era**

**=KoF=**

**Part 1**

**Jedi Temple, Coruscant**

Vader felt strange. The last time he had been in this place, it was during the last days of the Republic, when he led his 501st Legion. When he started the Jedi Purge.

Yet the building he walked into, was different. It was intact. Vibrant, and full of life. There was no sign of the scars caused by the fighting and the barely controlled fires that followed.

Not to mention that there dozens of the people walking this halls, were ones he had killed in a future past.

Once, a lifetime ago, the Temple was his home. Yet, it no longer felt that way.

Even as it was now, brightly lit by the golder rays of the morning sun, Vader could almost feel the ghosts inhabiting the building. No, this place couldn't be his home again.

Vader might have forsaken the Sith philosophy, but one thing was sure. He was no Jedi.

He examined his spartan room, which had been his home for a long time. It was as he remembered it.

The small bed with a hard mattress, the plain stool and desk near the door. A data pad left forgotten on a little table with two not particularly comfortable chairs near it.

Skywalker removed the black glove from his right hand and traced his fingers over the cover of the bed. It was firm and a bit rough.

A part of Anakin's mind wanted him to jump around, while screaming with joy. It was something he had been suppressing ever since the Force sent him back to the past. It was probably a part of his younger self with which he had merged.

He disregarded the wishes of the echo that had been Padawan Anakin Skywalker. That foolish, naive boy was, for most intents and purposes, gone. He had been absorbed by the older personality of Vader.

Yet, it left behind something... different. The former Sith Lord could feel it in his being. He was no longer Skywalker the Jedi. Nor was he Darth Vader. Who he was now, well that was something he would have to discover.

He looked around the room and his eyes stopped over a framed wooded board, which was hanging on the law next to the fresher's door. It was an ancient piece, on which was carved the Jedi Code.

_There is no emotion, only peace._

Heh. That was the first tenet. One he had always been abysmal at. While it wasn't half bad starting point for indoctrinating the Jedi dogma to toddlers, it hadn't worked so well on his nine years old self.

_There is no ignorance, there is knowledge._

Yet, the Jedi as a whole were ignorant as far as he was concerned. In the end, even Kenobi didn't really know him. All of them assumed that he had been brainwashed, just as they were. It was ironic, how blind the Councilors, even Yoda were.

He had never been a good Jedi. For Skywalker, loyalty to the Temple, the Order as a whole... it was a fleeting thing. He once had friends for whom he would have given his life. Gladly. Then there was his Angel, Padme.

He would have placed the live of every single one of them higher on his list of priorities than the Jedi Order as a whole.

That was something he would do again. However the number of people who he truly cared about, well now they could be counted on the fingers of a single arm.

_There is no passion, only peace._

As a Sith, Vader had learned that this was a lie. It was an extrapolation of the first tenet of the Code, and put together they summarized what was wrong with the Jedi. They were trying to deny a fundamental part of what meant to be a living, breathing, sentient being.

In the decades after the Order fell, he often wondered if the ultimate purpose of the Jedi was to turn themselves into unfeeling automatons akin to droids.

No. Into something worse. In his years Vader knew at least a few droids which had full emotions with a lot more possessing rudimentary feelings.

Vader shook his head. Such musings would lead him nowhere. Even now, when he was no longer a Sith, Skywalker believed that their Code was better. It took account of the reality in which the Force Adepts were living in.

The Jedi Code meant that his love of Padme was something wrong, and that was something Vader would never accept.

**=KoF=**

Vader walked the ancient corridors of the Temple on his way to the Council chambers. With every step, Anakin expected that the shades of Jedi he had cut down would rise to challenge him.

Skywalker needed to finish the impending "interview" with the Jedi Masters and get out of the Temple while he still had control over his temper.

When he reached his destination, Vader stopped for a moment. He took a deep breath and calmed himself. It was time to face the music.

He opened the door and heard Master Yoda speaking.

"Victory, you say? Master Obi-Wan, not victory, Geonosis was. Begun the Clone War has."

Vader had to suppress a smirk. The tiny green menace had no idea what was coming.

"You summoned me, Masters. Here I am." said Skywalker.

His tone was neutral, betraying nothing of his true feelings.

During his service under Sidious, Vader had committed countless unspeakable acts. Yet, half the reason for everything that happened to him and the galaxy at large could be found in the face of the Jedi in this room.

Granted, Sidious manipulated and betrayed everyone, making him as much to blame as the people inside the Council Chambers.

Vader looked around the mostly empty chamber. Windu and Kenobi were next to one of the windows to the left. The Grandmaster was sitting in his chair, flanked by Master Plo Koon, who was reading from a data pad and by all appearances, wasn't paying much attention to his fellow Jedi.

His gaze stopped on Obi-Wan.

That was the man who had raised him ever since he was freed all those years ago. Kenobi was the man he once considered to be his older brother. Someone to look up to.

However, Obi-Wan, was also the man who had used Padme. He had tricked Vader's wife and placed her in the path of a brand new Sith, who had been drunk on the Dark Side. Kenobi had left him burning on the shores of a magma river.

Then, there was Yoda. The Grandmaster of the Jedi Order. Supposedly the wisest of them all. Yet, he had been as blind as the rest. When the short Jedi Master told him that he should let go of his attachments...

Remembering it, Vader was barely able to keep his temper in check. Only the experience gained from decades spent deceiving the Emperor, let him keep his composure.

The Jedi had betrayed him twice already. He wouldn't, couldn't trust them again.

"Anakin, your... questionable display of passion towards Senator Amidala is a matter of a grave concern." said Kenobi.

"Indeed." muttered Vader.

Now, that their blossoming relationship was a public secret, neither Padme nor he were in any particular hurry. This time there wouldn't be a hasty marriage on the eve the war started.

Perhaps it was better that way. She always wanted a huge wedding, something he couldn't give her thanks to the need of secrecy. Well, that was no longer an issue...

Seeing that Skywalker wasn't about to immediately answer his master, Yoda and Mace glanced at each other.

"Dangerous, this attachment is." added the Grandmaster.

"Padawan Skywalker, you will explain yourself." Windu's words, while spoken calmly, were nothing less than an order.

Obviously the Jedi Master wanted answers and expected the padawan in front of the Council to provide them.

Vader frowned. He could sense what the Vaapad master felt, despite the fact that Mace was doing a very good job at strangling his emotions. Windu was wavering between rigid self control and subdued aggression. Ah, the dangers of being a Vaapad master even when you are out of combat and not using the style.

The Jedi Masters were about to make his decision much easier for Vader.

Master Plo Koon looked away from the data pad in his hands. He hadn't paid much attention to the proceeding so far. In his opinion, the whole interview was a waste of time, which was something that the Jedi couldn't really afford. Not when the Order was drawn into a real, galaxy spanning war for the first time in centuries.

Skywalker should have explained himself to his master, being chastised for his brazen behavior, and then Kenobi should have reported any further irregularities to the Council. The real concern of the boy's actions was how they would influence the padawans and young Jedi who were on Geonosis and saw him with Senator Amidala. Add to that those who could be swayed by rumors of the event.

Say what you will about the Jedi as a whole, but in that regard they were just as everyone else. A lot of them loved a juicy rumor, though very few would admit to it. Most of the time that was either harmless or even occasionally useful.

It was different today. If not for Dooku and his supposed shadow master, the so called Darth Sidious, Skywalker's actions wouldn't be too concerning. When all was said and done, the padawan was a young man, and as such it was almost expected that he would have a youthful indiscretion or two. It wasn't a problem if when found such a thing was nipped in the bud.

"Padawan Skywalker..." Master Koon gazed at the young man. "Your attachment is an outright violation of the Jedi Code. Even worse, you made it blatantly clear by announcing it in the middle of a battle, demonstrating that it influences your judgment. You must end this affair with the Senator. Immediately."

With his piece said, Plo Koon returned his attention to the data pad in his hands.

For an instant, the Council Chambers were washed by what felt as dark flames, before the unnatural presence disappeared as fast as it manifested.

The three Jedi in the room were struck speechless for a moment, too busy staring in the young man in front of them to react.

"I must?" sneered Vader.

He should have expected it. They were ready to judge him even before hearing his side of the story. Typical.

Vader was different from the headstrong boy they knew. He was a man accustomed to wielding power, not someone's lapdog. That was something Anakin wouldn't allow to happen again.

He was no longer trapped in that kriffing suit. Vader was whole, with his connection to the Force undamaged. After two decades of living hell, he was able to make his own choices.

He was no longer a pawn in the games of the Sith, much less one belonging to a bunch of clueless Jedi.

"Anakin!" exclaimed Obi-Wan.

The Jedi Knight was unpleasantly surprised by his padawan's outburst. The brief wave of pure Dark Side energy which washed over the chamber made him truly understand the peril hanging upon his student. While not fallen, Anakin was in precautions situation, one that was being made worse by his and the Council ignorance of what they were dealing with.

Kenobi send a brief glare at the Kel Dor Jedi Master, who had stopped reading and was staring at Skywalker, and cringed. He should have pressed the point more forcefully, making sure that the Jedi master knew Anakin's devotion to Padme not only intellectually but in their hearts too.

Windu and Plo Koon were handling Skywalker as they would another padawan who made the same... "mistake", though at least they weren't outright demanding that he leave the Senator. Especially the Kel Dor Jedi Master.

In another case, Koon's words would have been the natural response to the padawan's actions. However, here, today, Kenobi felt they were the sparks which were about to ignite an inferno.

What was happening with Anakin? Obi-Wan's frown deepened. Anakin hadn't given him the promised answers yet.

Skywalker's lips twitched in amusement at his former master's obvious confusion.

"Why would I do that, Master Koon?" hissed Vader.

His mismatched eyes stared at the Jedi in turn, daring them to contradict him.

"Would you expel me because I fell in love?" he asked in a calmer voice.

"In shadows you walk, young Skywalker." stated Yoda. "The Dark Side I sense in you. Fall to it you could. Easily..."

"Anakin, what in the name of the Force is happening to you?!" asked Kenobi.

The Jedi Knight couldn't help it. The way his padawan was speaking to the Council was unnerving. There wasn't even the hint of respect that one would have expected. Only calm indifference, until Senator Amidala was mentioned. Surely, Anakin knew that his attitude amounted to almost taunting the Jedi Masters. Chosen One or not, the Council members simply couldn't let him break the Code and walk all over them without any consequences.

Vader smiled ruefully.

"What indeed. My eyes opened, Obi-Wan. The Code means that my love for Padme is wrong. And that is something I will never accept!" he glared at each of the Jedi Masters in turn.

"Control, yourself, Skywalker!" Windu snapped at the blatant display of disrespect.

The only thing actually showing the displeasure of the Jedi Master was his voice, which was barely raised from his usual calm tone. Yet, for those who could sense through the Force, the Vaapad master was painted in slightly different light. Windu was frustrated by the way Skywalker was acting. The brief, almost unnoticed tendril of anger that tried to flare within his chest and was promptly crushed, wasn't caused by wounded pride or some other emotion.

It was driven by cold logic. Skywalker had the potential of becoming one of the most powerful Force Adepts in the history of the Jedi Order. As such, he had to be held to a higher standard. The way his was acting ever since Geonosis had to be stamped down for the good of the Republic and the Galaxy as a whole.

To the Jedi, it appeared that Skywalker was walking down a path leading straight to the greedy hands of the Dark Side. The potential fall had to be stopped. The first steps toward achieving that were to get information about what happened out of the boy and ending his relationship before it was too late.

"Or what? You'll expel me?" asked Vader.

He used the Force to levitate his lightsaber, until it was hanging in midair in front of him. Anakin examined the weapon, which was one he had constructed as a spare a week before he was assigned to protect Padme.

It fell off. He was no longer the eager teenager who had built the weapon. The lightsaber was no longer his. The connection between the blade and its wielder, that bade it an extension of ones will was no longer there.

This thing was just a tool. Vader needed to build himself a new lightsaber.

Yoda was staring at him with huge eyes. Vader smirked at the Jedi Masters, feeling their unease.

"Think about this, you should." said the ancient being.

Windu stared at the young man. Something was shifting within the depths of the Force, and it was centered on Skywalker. Mace felt a sinking feeling at the pit of his stomach.

Finally he could see it. Skywalker was a Shatterpoint which bound them all. And until now, when it was too late to do anything, but make the unfolding future even darker, Windu was unable to perceive it.

At that moment he knew it. They kriffed up by the numbers. Everything they said, despite being the right reaction for dealing with a padawan who kriffed up by the numbers, was the wrong way to handle Skywalker.

"Oh, I have, Master Yoda." said Vader.

"He should be explaining himself," grumbled Plo Koon.

Something in the young man was unnerving the Kel Dor male. The sudden surge of anger and darkness emanating from the Padawan had been a shock.

Obi-Wan's eyes widened. He remembered the conversation he had with his apprentice on Geonosis. Anakin couldn't mean to do that! Right? After all, the Jedi Masters hadn't really made him choose to break up with Senator Amidala. There was a huge difference between Master Koon saying what Skywalker should do and actually demanding that the padawan went through with it...

"Anakin, you can't possibly mean to do this!" the Jedi Knight exclaimed.

Vader levitated the hilt of his lightsaber, so it was in front of Obi-Wan and let go of it. Kenobi snatched it before it could fall to the ground.

"Have a nice day, Masters. I quit." the former Sith grinned at the shocked faces of the assembled Jedi.

He could clearly feel their stunned disbelief at his simple words. It was delicious.

Vader waved at them and cheerfully left the silent chambers.

He could almost hear the impending explosion. Skywalker wondered who would be the first to scream: "You are the Chosen One! You can't stop being a Jedi!" 

The doors slid behind him, cutting off the first shouts. For the first time, from even before falling to the Dark Side, Vader felt free.

**=KoF=**

**Chancellor Office, Senate Building, Coruscant**

Palpatine was sitting in his chair and grinning like a maniac. He could feel the currents of the Force subtly changing, and knew that what his young friend feared had become a fact. Sidious didn't need to be present in the Temple to know it. Anakin Skywalker was no longer a Jedi. While the boy was far away from being a Sith, turning him had become so much easier.

The Dark Lord chuckled. Who would have thought it? Padme Amidala, one of the Chancellor's biggest political opponents had bestowed him a priceless gift by ensnaring young Skywalker.

This was turning even better than his plans for the boy.

Palpatine retrieved a data pad from a drawer in his desk and started typing on it. With one fell sloop, he was about to deliver another strike to the Jedi.

"Let's see how you'll fare on the battlefield, General Skywalker." whispered the Sith Lord.

A few hours earlier, Anakin had contacted him with a request. The young man wanted a commission in the military in case he was expelled of the Order or was forced to quit. It was something Palpatine just granted.

This was a splendid week. The Clone Wars had begun, a lot of Jedi died in a single day, and now this.

"Now, let's see what else can I do for my Jedi friends..." muttered the Sith Lord.

**=KoF=**

**Council Chambers, Jedi Temple, Coruscant**

"Silence!" snapped Yoda.

It was so uncharacteristic, that it was almost as shocking as Skywalker's stunt.

The eyes of all present turned to the Order's Grandmaster.

"Blind we were." muttered Yoda. "Saw this, we did not," he looked at the assembled Jedi. "By the Dark Side, deceived we were. The Chosen One, for now lost he is."

Master Shaak Ti, who was present via a hologram, frowned. She had been silent so far, trying to evaluate the situation. While surprised by the actions of the boy, and disagreed with the way she went about it, the Togruta woman couldn't say that she really blamed him. Even if Skywalker was a full Jedi instead of a padawan, in the end it was his choice whether he would want to stay in the Order and sacrifice whatever he felt for the Senator from Naboo or leave. Unfortunately that was something with which some of her colleagues would disagree...

"Is this something we can afford?" asked Mace Windu.

"Make Skywalker an enemy we must not. Disaster that way lays." declared Yoda. He had a troubled expression on his face.


	6. Chapter 2 part 2

****Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. It belongs to Disney. I make no money from this story.****

****AN: This part was betaed by************Dragon Force Ranger Red ********on the Space Battles forums! Thank you very much!****

**Chapter 2: The End of an Era**

**Part 2**

**=KoF=**

**GAR Headquarters  
>Coruscant<strong>

Vader allowed himself an almost content smile. It was done. He was out of the Jedi's reach. For the first time, besides the days between his release from slavery and induction into the Order, Anakin was truly free!

He walked into the Army's Headquarters with a spring to his steps. Inside, he followed the instructions of a bored Twi'lek sergeant and filed the necessary paperwork. Thanks to whatever strings the Chancellor had pulled, it got processed almost immediately.

Only few hours later, Vader was a new man. General Anakin Skywalker in charge of 501st Legion.

Then he hit the first snag. There were no fitting uniforms for someone of his new exalted rank, so he would have to wait a day for a new one to be manufactured and delivered. So he had to make do with gray fatigues, just like what the Clones wore when not clad in their armor.

It wasn't particularly fancy, but it was better that his current black clothes, which technically belonged to the Jedi Order. He had a half mind to send them back in a box.

Anakin smirked at that childish thought and shook with silent laughter.

Now, that he had back in the army, with a rank reasonably close to that he had wielded for the last twenty years, he felt even better. While there was a part of him, which desired to just get Padme and went away from the wider galaxy and the war, there was another side of him.

For all the horrors he had lived through during the Clone Wars and the Empire that followed, leading troops had become a second nature to himself. Perhaps it was because being an officer gave him something to lean on, a familiar action to keep what shred of sanity he had still possessed before finding out that he had a son...

But deep down, he knew that it wasn't that simple. For all his youthful enthusiasm, besides his time with Padme, leading the 501st had been the best part of his life. Vader frowned at that thought.

During this war, he had become known as the Hero without fear, a title, which more than anything else showed how young, foolish and lucky he had been at the time. However, as a Sith, he had learned his lesson well. He knew both fear and anger very well, and was determined not to let them control him again.  
>He couldn't afford to. Those two emotions, coupled with Palpatine's manipulations would cost him everything in the future.<p>

Well, not this time. He would show his old master, both of them in fact, what he was made of. The galaxy was out there for the taking with only Sidious and few minor obstacles standing in his way... Ready for Vader to grasp it.

Nevertheless, that would have to wait. He had some explaining to do as far as Padme was concerned...

**=KoF=**

**Republica 500  
>Coruscant<strong>

Vader stared at the closed door of Padme's apartment, feeling like an idiot. He had visited few high end restaurants, procuring some of her favorite meals, before passing through a flower shop, from where he bought a large bouquet of flowers he knew she loved ever since she was a little girl. Then he went to her home only to find out that Padme and her current bodyguards had left for Naboo for the next couple of weeks.

This was just what had happened the last time, however then it was him who brought her back home. Anakin groaned, feeling like smashing his head in the closest wall. Repeatedly.

This relationship stuff was going to be harder the second time around...

Anakin took a deep breath to calm himself and shook his head in frustration. He needed to kill something. Another deep breath.

It couldn't be helped. Vader decided to call Padme and check if she was all right after he reached his temporally home. As a newly minted GAR General, he was entitled to a place within one of the buildings housing the army's and navy's officer quarters on Coruscant.

**=KoF=**

**Ahsoka Tano's quarters  
>Jedi Temple<br>Coruscant**

A young Togruta female was getting more and more bored in her small room. She had been virtually under house arrest for the last few hours, ever since some great commotion had happened in a council meeting. There was a sense of apprehension and foreboding in the air. It clung to the very Force itself. There was a hint of fear and insecurity as well.

It was strange, like nothing she had felt within the Temple's walls.

Ahsoka sat cross-legged on her small bed and closed her eyes, in a futile attempt to meditate. It was all for naught. Her mind was bouncing this way and that, wondering what in the name of the Force was happening. She was feeling restless, too wound up to rest or meditate.

An instinct screamed at her to move, to run.

Staying cooped in her small room with nothing to do was driving the energetic girl up the walls in frustration.

Suddenly a soft chiming sound could be heard. Someone was on the other side of her door. Ahsoka opened her eyes and almost smiled. She could sense the presence of Master Plo Koon on the other side of the door. However, the sense of foreboding increased to an almost unbearable degree.

Tano shivered, a ghost of fear worming itself through her heart before she ruthlessly suppressed the feeling. She jumped from her bed and hurried to open the door.

Sure enough, Master Koon was waiting on the other side. Ahsoka's smile froze on her face. The old Kel Dor looked grim.

"Master?" asked Ahsoka. She could feel the swirling tides of the Force trying to warn her about something.

"May I enter, young one?" asked the aging Jedi.

Tano nodded and moved aside, leaving the path open. Plo Koon went in and when the door closed behind him he used the Force to place a barrier around the small room. When a Jedi Master desired to have a private conversation, he had a few ways to ensure that it stays that way.

Ahsoka's eyes widened in confusion when she felt what Plo Koon did. This was going to be bad. She just knew it.

Master Koon sat on one of the pair of plain chairs in the room and looked at the girl, while he was trying not to curse the foolishness of the majority of the Council. He couldn't afford to get angry. No matter how good a reason he had.

"Some, significant events took place earlier today, Ahsoka," he started speaking with deceptively calm voice.

"I'm not going to like where this is going, am I, Master?" asked Ahsoka.

"Hardly. Nevertheless, despite what some people think, you have the right to know what and why happened," grumbled the Jedi Master. "There was a Council meeting, in which Anakin Skywalker was called in to explain his actions on Geonosis."

"Oh!" exclaimed Ahsoka.

While she and a lot of the younger generation of padawans and Jedi approved of Skywalkers stunt with the Senator from Naboo, the same thing couldn't be said about the older Jedi. Which incidentally were the ones running the Order.

Ahsoka suddenly had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Skywalker left the Jedi Order," he dropped the bomb. In another time and place, Koon would have found his former student's reaction amusing. Here and now, it brought him even more regret.

Ahsoka's eyes widened in surprise and disbelief. To the Jedi Master, her stunned disbelief was something solid. He felt that he could touch it if he excreted himself through the Force.

"How? Why?!" blurted out the young girl.

"We treated Skywalker as your average padawan who made such an n indiscretion..." the Kel Dor Jedi Master trailed off. He knew that his words contributed to Anakin's decision. "It was a mistake. Oh, he broke the Code in such a way that consequences were warranted. However, young Skywalker perceived our words, my words, as giving him a choice between Senator Amidala and remaining a Jedi," Master Koon took a deep breath, his respirator hissing loudly in the quiet room.

"He chose the woman he loves, didn't he? As if he would do anything less..." muttered Ahsoka.

The Jedi Master chuckled. "Indeed, young one. It seems you are more perceptive than most of the Council put together."

"It gets worse, isn't it?"

"Indeed. Ahsoka, after he left, we had a few hours long recess before meeting again. The second time, the topic was related to Skywalker leaving," Plo Koon found it hard to continue, yet Ahsoka was his former student. He owed her the truth. "His actions shook the Council. The Chosen One leaving the Jedi Order... Unthinkable!" he shook his head sadly. "But I'm starting to ramble. Let's cut to the chase. There was a vote, a very close one. The council decided that with the war starting, we can't afford to expose padawans who are emotionally unstable to the pressures of combat. A not insignificant number of padawans and a few Jedi Knights are being send to the Agri Corps for the duration of the conflict. For their own good of course. At least this is the official reason."

"No! They can't do that!" Ahsoka frantically shook her head. She felt scared, betrayed, because there was only one reason why Master Koon was telling her all this. Under a privacy barrier too. She had done nothing wrong! Certainly nothing to warrant being sent to the Agri Corps!

"What the Council shouldn't do and what it can't do... Unfortunately sometimes those are two very different things. Skywalker's actions shook a lot of the Council members. In the end, some of us overreacted. While I don't believe that this would be a long term solution, especially after Master Yoda showed his displeasure at this course of action, it stands for now. You are amongst those who are to be sent away..."

Ahsoka moved like in a trance until she was near her bed and sat down, dejected. This had to be some sort of a bizarre nightmare. Right? She looked at her former teacher. Ahsoka could feel him being torn between his duty as a Jedi Master and this madness forced upon him by his fellow Council members.

"It's not fair!" she exclaimed. "We did nothing wrong!"

"Perhaps not," muttered Plo Koon. Surely this time the Jedi Code came back to bite them on their collective backsides.

A rift had appeared in the midst of the Jedi. Part of him wanted to blame Skywalker and his love for the Senator about what happened. That was the easy way. After all, the Code told them about the danger of letting one's emotions run free... Yet, he couldn't help but feel that this whole debacle could have been easily avoided.

On one hand it was easily to despise Skywalker's feelings for Padme Amidala, which were now rending the Jedi Order asunder. On the other, was it really so dangerous, so wrong, to let the boy pursue his love? Especially now, that they knew what would happen if they threw the Code in his face and declared his feelings wrong.

Plo Koon didn't have a good answer. Decades of upholding the creed of the Jedi were clashing with the consequences of the Order's rigidity.

Then, there was the second reason why he came to visit his former padawan. After the second council meeting, Plo Koon has spoken with Masters Yoda and Kenobi. Those two had an interesting plan to start patching up the relations between Skywalker and the Order.

"I have a proposition for you, Ahsoka," spoke the Jedi Master.

She perked up at that. A bit of gloom and doom hanging upon her Force signature dissipating at his words.

"Instead of going to the Agri Corps, you are going to be given the opportunity to study under a specific Jedi Knight, should both of you agree to it..."

**=KoF=**

**Dex's Dinner  
>CoCo Town<br>Coruscant**

Anakin made his way to Kenobi's favorite dinner place, wondering why he agreed to meet his former master. Perhaps was the frustration he felt after failing to contact Padme, who by now should be in hyperspace, on some unknown transport en route to Naboo. After his plans for a romantic dinner with the woman who he loved fell through, Vader didn't relish the thought of spending the evening alone in the officers quarters. He was too wound up to rest or sleep.

So when Kenobi called him and proposed to meet for a dinner, he had accepted without much of a fuss. Besides, he quite liked Dexter's nerf steaks.

When Vader arrived, Kenobi was already at the dinner. The Jedi Master was sitting at a corner table and sipping juri juice with a far away look in his eyes. Sensing Anakin, Obi-Wan turned looked at his direction and raised both eyebrows at seeing his former padawan wearing GAR fatigues with a general insignia on his chest to booth.

"Well, well, my former padawan. You have a story to tell. You've wasted no time I see."

"Obi-Wan," Anakin greeted coolly and sat across the table from Kenobi.

'This is going to be even more interesting conversation than I anticipated...' thought Kenobi.

**=KoF=**

**GAR Staging Area  
>Senate District<br>Coruscant**

Dozens of Acclamator Assault ships could be seen near the Senate Building. The choice of this staging area for the GAR, was mostly political in nature. It was both a show of strength and attempt to assure the Republic's populations that those in charge had everything in control, despite the civil war all in name that was starting to ravage the galaxy.

However, those thoughts were far from the minds of the clones who were preparing to board their ships. Legion after legion marched up the ramps of their designate ships in parade formations. They looked like a powerful, unstoppable juggernaut, ready and willing to crush the Republic's enemies. It was even mostly true.

Too bad that the Droid armies they had to face outnumbered them to an almost ridiculous margin.

In a temporary barracks, a few kilometers from the senate building itself, a battalion of clone troopers waited to receive their marching orders. Amongst their numbers was Torrent Company under the command of a certain Captain Rex, who was lounging in a not particularly comfortable chair. He was within a small cubicle that passed for his office until they deployed and was trying his best to vanquish the paperwork associated with his men's stay in their temporary home.

All the training on Kamino hadn't prepared him for this mind numbing part of his duties. He would rather face a company of droids while naked and armed with only a pistol rather than deal with this mess for another day.

The computer terminal on his desk pinged, informing him that he had received a new message. Rex idly pressed few buttons, glad for any distraction.

Wouldn't you know, the bureaucracy had finally got around to sending him his marching orders! They were going to be under the command of a General Anakin Skywalker, who would meet them in the morning. Further, the battalion should be ready for deployment in two days at the latest. That at least shouldn't be a problem. They were ready to go at a moments notice.

Rex wondered about their new commanding officer. He hadn't heard a thing about this Skywalker...


End file.
